Following the first formal meeting with the 26-County
government since January, Gerry Adams said that
politicians, North and South and in London, had to be
prepared to exploit the "enormous opportunities" that would
arise from the announcement, which is expected in the next
week.

It's a safe bet none of those involved in rioting on the streets of Belfast and elsewhere over the last couple of weeks felt shame when the pictures of flame and destruction were flashed round the world. Why should they?

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams MP, who has spent four days in
political briefings in Washington DC, has expressed his
confidence that the Provisional IRA leadership will honour its
commitments, including that of engaging with the decommissioning
body and putting its weapons beyond use.

Unionist paramilitaries involved in intense violence on the
streets of Belfast have demanded the British government end what
it described as the “suppression and containment” of Protestants
in the North of Ireland.

The SAS have carried on a ‘Dirty War’ in British colonies long
before their deployment in the conflict in the North of Ireland
or their latest skirmish in Iraq. A look at the history of the
Special Air Service, from the book ‘Oliver’s Army’ by Aly
Renwick.

Last Saturday night the unionists of Belfast treated us to an
evening of truly surreal proportions. Outside City Hall,
thousands waving Union Jacks were part of a live BBC broadcast
of the last night of the proms. They sang lustily. Donegal
Square echoed to Jerusalem and Land of Hope and Glory.

The British government has confirmed that it no longer
recognises the UVF ceasefire. However, it is continuing to claim
that the largest unionist paramilitary organisation, the UDA, is
abiding by a ceasefire.

The recent historic initiative by the IRA created an
unprecedented sense of optimism and expectation that renewed
progress can be made towards a lasting peace. The response has
been almost universally positive and forward thinking. Except
that is within the leadership of unionism. There the response
has been negative, cynical and backward looking.

A report of the British government’s IMC sanctions body has
blamed the unionist paramilitary UVF for recent killings,
putting pressure on the British Direct Ruler Peter Hain to admit
that the group is in breach of its ceasefire.

Irish President Mary McAleese provoked controversy yesterday by
publicly hugging a unionist paramilitary leader, despite being
forced to cancel a visit to the Shankill in Belfast under the
threat of violence.

When a TV programme is watched by one in four of the viewing
population and puts the wind up politicians, it’s worth having a
look at. So Monday found me switched on to the final episode of
RTE’s Rip-off Ireland.

An inquest into the death of a County Louth man shot dead by a
unionist paramilitary/British Army murder gang has been told
that the 26-County Gardai police knew the identity of his
killers within 18 months, but never sought their extradition.

The Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said the plight of the
Colombia Three now rests with the legal process -- even as
unionist hardliners and Ahern’s Minister for Justice campaign
for their prosecution.